1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to potassium taurate bicarbonate and potassium taurate ascorbate complexes and methods for making them, as well as methods for using such complexes as anti-hypertensive pharmaceutical agents, or as dietary ingredients in dietary supplements, medical foods or other food products.
2. Description of the Related Art
Primary hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major risk factor for stroke, cardiovascular disease and death in the United States. Blood pressure levels are strongly and positively correlated with the habitual intake of sodium chloride. In populations with a sustained sodium chloride intake of 6 grams or more per day, blood pressure rises with age and hypertension is frequent, whereas in populations consuming less than 4.5 grams of sodium chloride per day, the age-related rise in blood pressure is slight or absent and the frequency of hypertension is uniformly low. See National Research Council, “Diet and Health: Implications for Reducing Chronic Disease Risk,” National Academy Press, Washington D.C., 1989, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Epidemiological and animal studies indicate that the risk of stroke-related deaths is inversely related to potassium intake over the entire range of blood pressures, and the relationship appears to be dose dependent. The combination of a low-sodium, high-potassium intake is associated with the lowest blood pressure and the lowest frequency of stroke in individuals and populations. A substantial body of evidence in humans and animals indicates that dietary potassium exerts a beneficial effect on hypertension. This is partly because of its effect on lowering blood pressure and partly because of its separate, protective effect against vascular damage and stroke. Several studies have shown that supplemental potassium decreases the blood pressure of hypertensive patients. See H. Boynton et al., “The Salt Solution,” Avery Penguin Putnam, Inc., New York, 2001; and Frank M. Sacks et al., “Effects on Blood Pressure of Reduced Dietary Sodium and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet,” N. Engl. J. Med., Vol. 344 (1), pp. 3-9 (2001), both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. However, despite the beneficial effects of potassium, nutritional potassium supplements are underutilized and not widely available. This may be because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently limits the amount of potassium in a pill or tablet to 99 milligrams (mg), which is less than 3% of the Daily Value (3500 mg).